Books help children get into King

PEOPLE IN THE NEWS: STEPHEN KING by John F. Wukovits, Lucent Books, San Diego, 1999, 96 pages, $23.70; STEPHEN KING, KING OF THRILLERS AND HORRORS by Suzan Wilson, Enslow Publishers, Berkeley Heights, N.J., 128 pages, $20.95.

Last year, as I envied parents of children who had chosen easy-to-research topics such as lighthouses and puffins, I scoured three local libraries for books about author Stephen King for my oldest daughter Amber’s fourth-grade Maine studies school project. There was plenty of information, particularly literary analysis of his works, on a college reading level. But there was not much she could use. What a difference a year makes! Now I’ve discovered two excellent biographies suitable for intermediate and middle school readers. What a boon to young researchers and fans. Although both books are informative and enjoyable, they have distinctively different spins. “Stephen King: King of Thrillers and Horror” by Suzan Wilson is an entertaining chronological account that should appeal to young readers through its vivid descriptions of incidents and its detailed coverage of King’s childhood. “Stephen King” by John F. Wukovitz takes a more thematic, analytical approach. They complement each other nicely to give a well-rounded portrait of the popular Maine author.

The difference is discernible in the first chapter. Wilson starts by describing the circumstances that led up to King’s writing of “The Shining.” Step by step, the reader is drawn into his creative process to see how the experiences of being in an almost abandoned hotel that will be closed off from the rest of the world by snow in the winter, becoming lost in its mazelike hallways, and falling asleep in a filling bath tub, clicked with a story idea he had been developing for 12 years. Wukovitz’s first chapter develops the theme that Stephen King’s unique gift is the ability to bring horror stories from unrespected underdog to popular literature to be taken seriously by readers and critics. He discusses the extent of King’s fame and the reasons for it. King’s insights into his own

success are particularly interesting.

Wilson’s greatest strength is her ability to bring to life circumstances, events and people central in each phase of King’s life. His mother’s love of her sons, Stephen and David, and her struggles to give them a life better than her own are touching. Abandoned by her husband to raise their children alone, Ruth King eked out a living with a series of odd jobs. An avid reader, she inspired Stephen’s love of the written word. In later years she went without food to send money each week to her sons in college. In addition to the lowdown on “The Shining,” Wilson clues us in on the inspiration for many of King’s popular works. “Carrie” was based on his observations of students who didn’t fit in with their peers and a Bible-quoting woman he worked with at a laundry. The genesis of “Cujo” occurred when King, taking his motorcycle for repairs, encountered a very large, unfriendly dog. Particularly poignant, “Pet Sematary” came to be because of the untimely death of his daughter’s cat, Smucky.

Wukovitz captures King’s own thoughts and feelings vividly. In chapter three, “It’s Enough to Write,” he succinctly depicts King’s struggles – before he became rich and famous – to support his growing family, find time to write, and sell his work. Eventually King began to wonder if he was pursuing a fools’ dream. Wisely, Wukovitz lets him speak for himself.

“There I was, unpublished, living in a trailer, with barely enough money to get by and an increasing sense of doubt in my abilities as a writer, and the kid was crying and bawling every night.”

Again Wukovitz lets King speak for himself when discussing the perennial popularity of horror stories. “People aren’t really afraid of vampires, what they’re really afraid of is their own death … or the oil bill. When they’re reading or watching my stories, they are not afraid of the oil bill, I’ll tell you.” Both authors provide biographies for fans to read more about their favorite Maine author.